This invention relates to a collapsible container and to connecting means for use in association therewith.
Collapsible containers of various designs are available on the market. They are particularly useful for the conveyance of produce such as fruit and vegetables, but are not confined to the conveyance of produce. Collapsible containers generally suffer from a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage is that they tend to be relatively complicated in their construction, which makes them relatively expensive to manufacture. In addition, collapsible containers can be difficult and time-consuming to erect, which often leads to user resistance to these types of containers. A further disadvantage is that, once erected, many of these types of containers lack rigidity so that they are relatively easily deformed through handling and stacking, often resulting therein that conveyed goods are damaged.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel collapsible container, which seeks to overcome the abovementioned disadvantages, or which at least will provide a useful alternative to prior art containers. A further object of the invention is to provide a container, which can be of a relatively thin wall material yet capable of being stacked.
According to the invention there is provided a collapsible container comprising
a base panel;
opposed side wall panels and opposed end wall panels, the side wall panels and end wall panels being movable to an upright position relative to the base panel so as to define corner zones at their junctions; and
corner posts releasably connecting adjacent side wall panels and end wall panels where they adjoin one another in the upright position, each corner post having connecting formations for receiving and connecting the side wall panels and end wall panels thereto.
According to the invention there is also provided a corner post suitable for a container formed of sheet material so as to define corner zones at a junction between side wall panels and end wall panels of the container, the corner post comprising connecting formations for receiving and connecting the side wall panels and end wall panels thereto.
The connecting formations of the corner post may be adapted to interconnect with the side wall panels in the form of a snap fit.
Each corner post may comprise at least one set of flanges, the set of flanges comprising a pair of parallel flanges between which a side wall panel is received.
According to one form of the invention,.each corner post may comprise a tubular member having two sets of flanges directed at substantially right angles to one another. Each pair of flanges may comprise an outer flange and an inner flange
Each outer flange may have integral lugs which engage in corresponding apertures formed in the side wall panels. The lugs on the outer flange may be located opposite corresponding apertures provided on the inner flange.
Alternatively, each outer flange may include at least one engaging formation adapted releasably to engage a slotted aperture formed in the inner flange. The engaging formation may protrude through a corresponding aperture formed in the side wall panels before locating in the slotted aperture of the inner flange.
According to an alternative form of the invention the corner post may comprise an outer post section which is adapted to mate with an outer surface of the corner zone;
an inner post section which is adapted to mate with an inner surface of the corner zone; and
connecting means adapted to couple together the outer post section and the inner post section, so as to sandwich sheet material at the corner zone between these sections.
The connecting means may comprise engagement formations on the outer post section or on the inner post section, which mate with corresponding engagement formations on the inner post section or outer post section respectively.
The engagement formations may comprise tongue formations on the outer post section or inner post section, which are adapted to pass through apertures in the sheet material and which are adapted to engage the inner post section or outer post section as the case may be. Particularly, the tongue formations may extend from the inner post section and may be adapted to engage in apertures in the outer post section. More particularly, for engagement purposes the tongue formations may define lateral hook or barb elements that engage the outer post section.
The corner post also may include inter engaging tongue and groove formation at the upper ends of the post sections, with the inner post section preferably defining a downwardly directed groove formation and the outer post section an upwardly directed tongue formation.
Each corner post may include stacking means adapted releasably to engage complementarily dimensioned stacking means on a corresponding corner post when two containers according to the invention are stacked upon one another. Particularly, the stacking means may be a downwardly depending foot formation defined by the outer post section, with the inner post section being adapted to engage such foot formation, for example in spigot and socket fashion.
In one form of the invention, the stacking means may be an integral spigot located at one end of a corner post and adapted to be received in a socket formed in an opposite end of a corresponding corner post when two containers are stacked upon one another. In another form of the invention, the spigot may be in the form of an expanding barb adapted to pass through the base of the container and to lock within the socket.
The side wall panels and end wall panels may be connected to the base panel by any suitable hinge means such as ringlets, crease lines, perforations, film hinges or the like.
The container further may include at least two connectable roof panels adapted releasably to engage one another. Particularly, one roof panel may include a number of slotted apertures for receiving complimentarily dimensioned lip formations extending from the other roof panel.
Also included within the scope of the invention is a blank of sheet material for a collapsible container, the blank comprising
a base panel;
opposed side wall panels hingedly connected to the base panel; and
opposed end wall panels hingedly connected to the base panel, the side wall panels and end wall panels being hingeable to an upstanding position relative to the base panel so as to define corner zones at their junctions, the arrangement being one wherein the side wall panels and end wall panels are provided with apertures at the corner zones, the apertures being adapted to receive fastening means for corner posts therethrough.
The invention is further directed to a collapsible container including the corner post of the invention and the blank disclosed above.
Further included within the scope of the invention is a method of erecting a collapsible container comprising the steps of
providing the container blank and the corner posts in accordance with the invention; folding, the side wall panels and end wall panels of the blank into an upstanding position relative to the base so that their ends meet to define corner zones; and
releasably connecting corner posts to the side wall panels and end wall panels so as to clamp the sheet material at each corner zone there between.